McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par O

Altit, Gabriel (Supervisor1)  Read more

Leon Van Kempen (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Children's speech sound errors may reflect deficits in acoustic-phonetic, articulatory-phonetic, or phonological knowledge of those sounds. The purpose of the current study was to explore the factors believed to contribute to accurate articulation of /s/ in children with typically developing speech. Forty-eight children in their pre-kindergarten or kindergarten year participated. Acousticphonetic knowledge was assessed using a computer game targeting identification of correct and incorrect productions of /s/. Articulatory-phonetic skill was evaluated using maximum repetition tasks and by assessing stimulability for /s/. Phonological knowledge was assessed by examining the acoustic cues used by children to distinguish their productions of /s/ and …  Read more

The Yoruba people are scattered all over West Africa. In Nigeria where they predominate, they form the political unit of what is now Western Nigeria, and it is this area the writer has in mind in writing about the Yoruba social system. The people of Ilorin and Kabba provinces in Northern Nigeria also belong to the Yoruba group, but administratively they have witnessed the rule of the Fulani Moslem Emirs for more than a century. [...]  Read more

Behruzi, Roksana (Supervisor1)  Read more

This thesis proposes an analysis of the tough construction in Japanese. It is proposed that there are actually two tough constructions, each derived by a different kind of movement. Three kinds of data which support the claim made here are presented: tough constructions with scrambling, tough constructions with reflexives, and nominals derived from tough constructions. It is argued that non-movement analysis is not appropriate and that both tough constructions are derived by movement. It is shown that tough constructions with a 'tend to' reading can also be accommodated by this analysis. The analysis accounts for a wide range of interactions …  Read more

In this study of Mariano Jose de Larra's Articulos, it will be shown why Larra was not able to achieve his goal of improving the general lack of culture in Spain, which was, according to him, the biggest obstacle to progress. Larra, a liberal writer, wanted to help Spain become a liberal country, if necessary by revolution, which was to be brought about by his writings. He chose to write newspaper articles, a then still very new medium. Although celebrated for his biting satire, Larra's advice was not heeded. The reasons for this are to be found in the special …  Read more

Vedel, Isabelle (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

This dissertation is an ethnographic and archival study of queer memory and the architectural afterlives of New York City’s Hudson River Piers. It asks how architecture, both material and symbolic, functions as a mnemonic device through which queer histories are imagined, preserved, erased, and contested. In the 1970s, the abandoned piers of the Greenwich Village waterfront became crucial sites of queer and trans life, sustaining public sex, shelter, and artistic experimentation in the ruins of industrial decline. After the warehouses were demolished in the 1980s, the remaining platforms continued to serve as gathering places for racialized queer and trans youth. …  Read more

The present study has two major goals: first it reconstructs the history of travel-literature from the Middle Ages to the 19th century with a special focus on the role of women, second it attempts to analyse and evaluate travel-accounts by women who travelled to the Orient in the 19th century (Engel-Egli, Forneris, Pfeiffer, Hahn-Hahn and Muhlbach). The reconstruction of the history of travel and travel-literature up to the 18th century shows that it was possible for women to travel with relative freedom. With the polarization of gender-roles in the last third of the 18th century, however, women were declared 'unfit …  Read more

Résumé Comme la pédagogie durable et culturellement pertinente cherche à mettre en valeur les expériences culturelles des élèves, les enseignants ont besoin d'un dispositif didactique afin de les examiner. Pour arriver à cet objectif, nous répondons aux questions de recherche suivantes : De quelles manières le spoken word, transmis par les écrits des élèves, met en évidence des marqueurs de construction identitaire en adoptant une approche pédagogique durable et culturellement pertinente? Dans quelles mesures et de quelles façons les ateliers de spoken word contribuent à l'élaboration d'une atmosphère de classe reflétant la compréhension mutuelle des expériences culturelles? Les données de …  Read more

The quantitative effects of increasing the organic matter contents of three soils upon their susceptibility to compaction, the recovery of tilth after compaction and the fertility of the soils were investigated. These effects were further studied on the production of bush bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Soil consistency limits, soil water status, applied pressure and organic matter contents were used to predict shear strength, penetration resistance and water retention characteristics of compacted soils, with the aim of meeting the widespread demand for possible techniques of soil compaction prediction. Soil compaction increased the ability of the soils to retain moisture, increased penetration resistance, …  Read more

The results of investigations on solid specimens of three granites show that, of the three variables, temperature, pressure and time, changes in temperature have the most profound effect on the rates of reactions in the specimens. Variations of both pressure and time also cause differences in the rates of reactions, but, are less important, on the whole than temperature changes. This statement, however, is subject to certain qualifications, depending on the temperature-pressure relationships to the granite liquidus curve. It is also shown that the solid specimens of the three granites begin to melt at almost the same temperature-pressure conditions as …  Read more

Le béton poreux biocompatible est un type spécialisé de béton poreux qui possède des propriétés mécaniques et hydrologiques adaptées à la croissance des plantes et à l'établissement de la végétation. Le béton poreux est de plus en plus répandu en milieu urbain pour contrôler les écoulements d'eaux pluviales, en raison de sa capacité à faciliter l'infiltration de l'eau à travers sa structure poreuse. Les recherches actuelles sur le béton poreux portent également sur sa capacité à favoriser la germination et la croissance des plantes, principalement des graminées. Les applications du béton poreux capable de supporter la vie végétale ont été …  Read more

This study was conducted on the grazing of West African Dwarf (WAD) goats managed by 41 farmers in Nigeria. The study focused on the use of "fodder banks" by small-scale farmers. The objective of the research was to determine the effect of seeding Stylosanthes hamata on herbage productivity and goat performance under three grazing management systems: tethering (conventional), free grazing natural pasture or free grazing legume-seeded pasture (fodder bank). Irrespective of the system of management, goats grazing the various pastures had a weaning weight of 6.0 $ pm$ 0.3 kg. At 6, 9 and 12 months the body weights were …  Read more

As Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly deployed in global contexts, the methodologies used to evaluate them have become the primary lens through which we measure their progress. This thesis argues that evaluation is not a neutral measurement but a methodological choice that actively structures the narrative of progress in NLP. Focusing on the African continent, we assess how current evaluation designs can obscure systemic failure modes and misrepresent model capabilities.We adopt a layered evaluation methodology to diagnose these discrepancies. First, we conduct an extensive evaluation of state-of-the-art LLMs using AfroBench, a multi-task benchmark encompassing 17 tasks, 23 datasets and …  Read more

The variability of thermal expansion coefficients during the molding of plastics causes the development of frozen thermal stresses in the molded parts. Also, the distribution of thermal expansion coefficients of the material in the molded part plays an important role in controlling shrinkage and warpage. In turn, the distribution of linear thermal expansion coefficients (LTECs) depends on the distributions of crystallinity and orientation in the part. In the case of fibre reinforced polymers, the distributions of fibre concentration and orientation are also important. In this project, a model has been proposed for estimating the LTEC of fibre reinforced plastics as …  Read more

This thesis describes a prototype virtual reality (VR) training system. E scSOPE-VR, designed and implemented for Hydro-Quebec by graduate students at McGill University and Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. The project was motivated by the necessity of providing a realistic training environment for substation operators, while ensuring their safety and the network's integrity at all times. With the simulator, trainees can carry out all the switching operations necessary for their work in absolute safety, while staying in a realistic environment. A speech-recognition system controls the training session, while audio immersion adds a dimension of realism to the virtual world. An expert-system …  Read more

L'évolution parallèle (l'évolution répétée et indépendante de caractéristiques similaires dans des environnements similaires) est un sujet de recherche important en biologie évolutive, notamment parce qu'elle fournit des preuves que la sélection naturelle agit d'une façon déterministe. Cependant l'évolution non-parallèle (variation de la direction ou de l'ampleur des changements entre des paires ecotypiques) est observée de plus en plus fréquemment. Ici, je démontre que l'évolution non-parallèle est commune dans les études sur les poissons, mais qu'elle est aussi mal appréciée. Ce résultat motive mes autres chapitres, chacun enquêtant une cause potentielle de l'évolution non-parallèle chez une espèce de poisson différente. Premièrement, …  Read more

There is interest, supported by successful field trials, in the use of satellite communications at the Ka band (30/20 GHz) and beyond to meet emerging demand for broadband interactive multimedia services. The key advantages of operation at Ka band are availability of bandwidth and favorable implications for terminal size, cost and mobility. We study two problems related to bandwidth management of the uplink in a multibeam, CDMA-based, GEO satellite. Our focus is on the delivery of data services with rigid constraints on bit-error rate and elastic constraints on data rate. The first of the two problems concerns the design of …  Read more

Gopnik, Irwin (Supervisors)  Read more

Kirmayer, Laurence J. (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Nicotine is thought to have an effect on cognitive function through cholinergic and dopaminergic stimulation in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia. Functional MRI was used to assess the effect of nicotine on brain activation during a verbal and visual working memory task. In a group of 10 smokers, nicotine improved performance in the verbal task compared to placebo; increased activation in the ventrolateral pre-frontal cortex and lentiform nucleus, as well as decreased activation in the hippocampus and medial frontal cortex. In the visual task, there were no differences in performance, no additional areas were recruited, and there was no …  Read more

With the rising importance of iron ore beneficiation, a great deal of research has been conducted over the past few years in order to better understand its flotation characteristics. Although hematite in ore deposits is generally loosely associated with gangue and, therefore, presents a relatively easy liberation problem, its flotation is difficult, since the gangue has flotation properties similar to the hematite. [...]  Read more

Caregiver's nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) and child nutritional status were compared within a project of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and McGill University. This initiative focused on development of gender responsive technologies and innovations to increase agricultural productivity for the achievement of food, nutrition and income security. The food security sub-team conducted both baseline and end line studies aimed to determine the health and nutrition impacts of the project, which in the present study focused on determinants of weight-for-age for the children. The data collected involved 94 caregiver-child pairs from Makueni County of Eastern Province consisting of …  Read more

Schistosoma mansoni est un ver plat parasitaire responsable de la schistosomiase, une maladie qui touche plus de 240 millions de personnes à travers le monde. S. mansoni peut provoquer des infections chroniques qui durent généralement entre 5 et 10 ans, mais dont la durée peut atteindre 40 ans. Durant cette période, le parasite doit moduler la réponse immunitaire de l'hôte pour assurer sa survie et empêcher son élimination. S. mansoni dispose de multiples stratégies pour y parvenir, telle qu'un tégument bien adapté et la production de molécules immunomodulatrices. Des travaux récents suggèrent que les microARNs (miARNs) sont aussi utilisé à …  Read more

Schmidt, Alexandra (Supervisor2)  Read more

En raison de leur capacité à améliorer la saveur et la texture, les sauces sont devenues une partie essentielle de nombreuses cuisines locales et internationales. Cette étude a examiné les paramètres de qualité des sauces qui influencent sur l’acceptabilité par les consommateurs, à l’aide d’une analyse rhéométrique et texturale. Tout d’abord, l’état stationnaire et la rhéologie oscillatoire de certaines sauces commerciales à base de viande ont été caractérisés à différentes températures de traitement. Les sauces présentaient un comportement d’amincissement par cisaillement bien décrit par le modèle Hershel-Bulkley (R2 ≥ 0,975). On a constaté que la température avait une influence considérable …  Read more

Eisenberg, Mark J. (Supervisor)  Read more

Le taux, la prévalence et les déterminants de la diarrhée infantile et des infections respiratoires aigues (IRA) ont été examinés chez 292 enfants de mères séropositives, séronégatives ou de statut VIH inconnu dans la région est du Ghana. Les taux de diarrhée et IRA étaient de 1.0 et 1.2 épisodes par enfant par 100 jours d'exposition, respectivement. Le statut VIH de la mère ou le mode d'alimentation des enfants n'avait pas d'effet sur la morbidité de ces maladies. Les mères séropositives avaient plus de tendances d'être stressées et de présenter avec des symptômes de dépression postpartum (DPP). L'augmentation de la …  Read more

Automaticity permeates much of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. An enduring tenet in cognitive neuroscience proposes that although controlled processes can become automatic, automatic processes are inflexible and cannot be returned to the purview of control. Drawing on the modulatory power of top-down parameters, such as attention, expectation, and suggestion, we propose that individuals can govern involuntary processes in specific contexts. We provide an overarching framework that capitalizes on research investigating the mechanisms by which hypnosis, meditation, and psychotherapy derail various involuntary processes. Furthermore, we explore how ingrained colour associations learned over a lifetime differentially influence the Stroop effect, the …  Read more

L'évaluation de la similarité substantielle entre les éléments protégeables de deux œuvres dans les affaires de violation du droit d’auteur est intrinsèquement imprécise, entraînant souvent des jugements subjectifs et des résultats incohérents. Cependant, l’application de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) offre des solutions innovantes aux défis posés par l’analyse experte dans les affaires de violation du droit d'auteur, en particulier celles impliquant des œuvres musicales. L’IA promet de favoriser la cohérence, l’objectivité et la précision dans les affaires de droit d’auteur musical, en répondant aux préoccupations de longue date liées aux témoignages d’experts et à l’interprétation judiciaire. Ce mémoire explore la relation …  Read more

The rocks of the Black River Group (Middle Ordovician) in the vic1nity of Montreal outcrop in a narrow belt which traverses the Island of Montreal, lIe Bizard, and lIe Jesus. They comprise three formations, the Pamella, Lowville, and Leray. The Pamelia formation is ten feet thick and is made of impure dolomltic limestones and shaly limestones; the Lowville is sixteen feet thick and is made of fine-grained and olitic, dove, thin-bedded limestones with frequent shaly partings; the Leray is twenty-two feet thick and consists of thick beds of black, light-weathering limestone, containing nodules of chert and irregularly horizontal streaks of …  Read more

Cette dissertation examine l'applicabilité de l'hypothèse du transfert/plein accès (TF/PA) (Schwarts & Sprouce, 1994, 1996) en examinant l'interprétation du pronom japonais (Kare 'il') par des adultes parlant anglais et espagnol apprenant le japonais.Les langues, japonais, espagnol et anglais, diffèrent selon les propriétés interprétatives des pronoms. En japonais et en espagnol, les pronoms visibles ne permettent pas une interprétation de variable liée en position de sujet et d'objet. Par contre, en anglais, les pronoms visibles peuvent avoir une interprétation de variable liée dans ces positions. On appelle ceci la contrainte du pronom visible (CPV) Montalbetti, 1984). Le modèle TF/PA suggère que …  Read more

This thesis addresses the question of identity from the perspective of Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf Education attempting to make a connection between Steiner's theory of self development in relation to the spiritual world, and the postmodern concept of identity. Fundamentally, what matters in education for Steiner is how knowledge is introduced in such a way as to become organic, developing with the growth of the students, so that they can learn to think creatively and imaginatively. The holistic and artistic approach which Waldorf Education takes seems to succeed in developing students' identity in a way that the students can connect …  Read more

This thesis examines the historical evolution of air law in Kenya, its content and current challenges. Part One is a historical introduction designed to provide a brief background knowledge and information necessary for a proper understanding of the geo-political and socio-economic foundation of air law in Kenya. It focuses on colonization process of East Africa with particular reference to Kenya. Part Two discusses the character and content of British air law and regulations exported to Kenya respecting aviation and attempts to analyse at the juridical basis of these regulations, Orders in Council and sub-delegated legislation. Effects on transition to independence …  Read more

In international economics literature, different variants of the Nash equilibrium have been used to formulate strategic and retaliative behavior. However, the negotiation process underlying the Nash equilibrium does not capture the notion of retaliation properly. We use the "contingent threat situation" (Greenberg, 1990) to reformulate three different international economic environments. First, a two-country, two-commodity model of trade is considered to reformulate the tariff retaliations. It is known that tariff retaliations lead to a Nash equilibrium outcome, a non-free trade outcome. We show, in the framework of the "theory of social situations", that the free trade equilibrium is supported by a …  Read more

Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) is a prototypic autoimmune disorder that affects peripheral nerve and nerve roots. While current therapies (IVIg and plasma exchange) have yielded some improvements in patients, they are non-specific and are commonly associated with considerable side effects. It is thus imperative to better understand disease pathophysiology and to explore new treatment strategies that target alternate mechanisms. Macrophages are immune cells with important functions in tissue homeostasis, contribute to various pathologies and resolution of diseases. Experimental and clinical investigations have demonstrated that macrophages are the predominant leukocyte population found in diseased peripheral nerves. Thus, it is important to …  Read more

This thesis represents a systematic attempt to analyse the economic impact of international tourism in Iceland. While tourism has long been seen as an important source of foreign exchange and employment for the country very little detailed information is available on the role that the industry plays in the national economy. To fill this 'information gap' two questionnaires were used to gather data on tourist expenditure characteristics and the cost and revenue structures of various tourism businesses. This data was then analysed using a simplified multiplier model. A series of findings are presented, including: the economic impacts associated with various …  Read more

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to develop and validate a rapid and sensitive analytical technique to measure caprine serum albumin (CSA) concentrations in milk, demonstrate its utility and investigate the relationship between CSA and milk constituents. The principle of the technique is based on the binding of albumin to bromocresol green (BCG) dye at pH 4.0 and the absorption of the dye-albumin complex was determined spectrophotometrically at 640nm. A linear relationship existed between CSA concentrations (0.01 to 8.0 mg/ml) and absorbance values. Intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation (CV) for the proposed BCG dye-binding assay were 2.6% and …  Read more